BFI IMAX

Time Out says

Details

Now Showing

Users say
(7)

4 out of 5 stars

Time Out says

London's – indeed, the UK’s – biggest cinema screen at 540 square metres, the BFI Imax stands alone in the centre of a busy roundabout next to Waterloo station. Like a princess in a fairytale it’s surrounded by a labyrinth of eerie tunnels, which heroic filmgoers must brave if they wish to sample the delights within. But trust us, it’s worth it. The screen is, of course, absolutely massive, the sound quality is spectacular and the seats are arranged at such a vertiginous angle that there’s no chance of a head blocking your view. It’s not cheap – as much as £20 for a premium seat – but if you like your blockbusters vast and noisy (and who doesn’t?) there’s really nothing else like it in town. One word of advice – locate your nearest loo before the film starts if you’re prone to a mid-film pee, because they’re all but impossible to find.

Now Showing

Space Station

Hubble

The Metropolitan Opera Live: Rusalka

Interstellar

Time Out says

5 out of 5 stars

Christopher Nolan’s overwhelming, immersive and time-bending space epic ‘Interstellar’ makes Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Gravity’ feel like a palate cleanser for the big meal to come. Where ‘Gravity’ was brief, contained and left the further bounds of the u...

D-Day, Normandy 1944

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars

Has JK Rowling been taking divination lessons at Hogwarts? With spooky clairvoyance, the first movie in her new five-film wizarding franchise opens with two factions in America at each other’s throats. No, not Republicans and Democrats. It’s 1926,...

Sully

Time Out says

3 out of 5 stars

Clint Eastwood doesn't waste any time: the opening scenes of 'Sully', his stirring tribute to a great day of ultra-coordinated New York City heroism, are so frightening that it’s amazing they're about to play in multiplexes around the world. In th...

America Wild: National Parks Adventure

A Beautiful Planet

Time Out says

4 out of 5 stars

This Imax film, narrated by Jennifer Lawrence, comes from a team well-seasoned in making films shot in space: its writer-director-producer-editor Toni Myers was behind films including ‘Hubble 3D’ and ‘Space Station 3D’. But it’s the first such fil...

BFI IMAX is quite obviously a docked alien mothership plugged into the London tube's electrical grid, gathering power and intel as it gears up for city-wide annihilation. The moment the power chamber batteries reach capacity it will rip out of the ground with such otherworldy force that Waterloo bridge will crumble straight into the Thames, not unlike a piece of popcorn dissolving into a large Coke Zero at the cinema, such as the one which this unspeakably destructive UFO has been (unconvincingly) masquerading as for over a decade now. If eBible Fellowship leader Chris McCann is as trustworthy as his organisation is old, which is really not very, the the doomsday ought to be occurring any minute. At the hands of a bloody overpriced one-screen cinema.

Who can stop it now? We can! Hop on your nearest fully upgraded laser-equipped Boris Bicycle T-2000 and take this mother down. There's ten thousand of these flyable death-dealing machines in London, so make like the boy from E.T and get on yer' bike. Together we are going to do it...

Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!

But yeah I saw Pacific Rim here and it was sweet. This whole thing has been a way of getting in that epic line from the film.

Recently went to watch Jurassic World in 3D at
the IMAX and it was fantastic. Hugely fun to watch on the massive screen and
the surround sound was epic. The compère (Nicholas) introducing the performance was incredibly
funny and added to the whole experience.

Best cinema I've ever been to. I've made it a habit to watch all superhero films there since IMAX is really good for sci-fi action films. The screen is massive and the sounds are just too good. The surround sound system is comparable to none. I've watched films there like, Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World, Avengers 1 and Avengers 2 etc. It makes 3D movies well worth it.

This should be a great cinema. But it isn't. Finding the entrance is the first challenge. Buying tickets is generally easy and there is a self serve option. But then you have to trek upstairs and you get let in at the bottom of the cinema. You climb interminable steps to get to your seat.
The seats themselves are uncomfortable for any length of film except 20 minutes. So not much good then.
The only decent seats are at the very top of the auditorium for which you pay a premium.
The exit at the end of the film requires you to go up to the back of the auditorium and then take endless winding stairs down. There is a lift if you are clever enough to find it. The loos on the same level as the top of the auditorium are small and over crowded.
I have been there for blockbusters and for opera. The screen is great, but not worth the extra cost or discomfort.